The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-07-20
JACK TAR'S FOOD.
EATABLES THAT MERCHANT
SAILORS LIVE AND WORK ON.
Regulated by Law and Much Better
Than 1t Used to Be, But Still
Neither Very Tempting Nor
Varied-Regular Rasions

The San Francisco Call has been e1.
anining before the mast menus. and has
discovered some interesting facts
Ths imagined joys and glorias of q
sailors life fade vezy quickly as sea,
especially at meal times. The question
of food is one of tine worst hardships
that sailors have to contend with. 1t is
said that no class of men are so ill4 or
under-Sed for the amount, of work they
perform as sailors.
However, sailors on &eep-water ships
are better fed now than they were fftesn
or twenty years ago. They get a greater
variety. On board all deep-water ves-
iels three meals are served daily when the
watches are changed at eight bells-at
SA. NJ. neon, and P. NJ. Besides this,
what is called early coffee is served to
the watch on deck at A.. d., before the
work of washing the decks commences.
The cooks sor, as he is always called, the
"doctor, rs the most important person.
age on tho ship, and lucky Is the seaman
who can keep good friends with the
cook, for he is certain to, get lots of
''malevolens'-a peculiar term given to
the viands that are left from the cabin
tables. Taese are also called "gubbins,"
and are brought forward in what is called
the dog-baket, large basket lined
with tin.
Now astto the diet provi5ed for Jack
in the foreeastle. Every sailor, when he
goes abossd, is provided with knife,
fork and spoon, 'hookpot7 and a pan
nikin. The hookpot is tin pot with an
iron hook riveted on so that it can be
hung on the side of the bunk while Jack
is using both hands to ea5 with. In
England, everything is said to be done
by act of Parliament, and the sailors
food is, certainly regulated by the act,
and his daily bill of fare iss6xed by law.
In this country it is fixed. by an act Of
Congress, and in vessels of both nations
the ship captains are compelled, under
heavy penalty, to post in, q conspicuous
place in the forecastle 81 copy of the
agreement signed by the. sailors on ship
ping. containing the quaatity of rations
signed for.
The regular allowance. of food for each
man IN both English and American mer-
chant vessels should be. as follows: Bread.
one pound; tea, one-eighth of an ounce.
coffee, one-half ounce; sugar, two
ounces. and water, three quarts per day;
beef, six pounds; pork, one pound and
half; flour, one pound and half; peas,
one pint; rice, ons~third of pound pea
week.
These provlsiDns are to be served out
in addition to the daily issue of lime
juice or other mti-scorbutics. 1t is also
provided: "No sheath knives or grog
allowed on board. Substitutes at masters
option" The following substitutes are
allowed: One ounce of coffee, cocoa or
chocolate for one-quarter ounce of tea;
molasses for sugar, quantity to be one
half more one pound of potatoes OF
yams; one-half pound of flour or rice;
one-third pint of peas or one-quarter pint
of barley may be substituted for each
other. When fresh meat Is issued, the
proportion to be two pounds per man
per day in lieu of salt meat.
A landsman might think that one-half
a pound of beef or one and one-quarter
pound of pork would be sufficient for q
man, but when it is considered that a
good deal of it is cut off as unfit for
human food and thrown overheard, that
the meat is weighed with the bone in,
and that when salt meat is boiled it
shrinks q great deal, Jack won't have
much meat left to eat with his hardtack.
The beef, or as it is always termed "salt
horse" is always all lean, and the salt
pork is generally all fat. The meat is
generally kept on deck in two casks
called the "harness casks" The fat that
arises to the surface when the meat is
boiled in the salt water is saved by the
cook and put into the slush cask.
This slush or fat is the cooks perquisite,
and many pound of fat meat he sur
reptitiously cuts from the meat to in
crease the amount in his slush cask. Ar
irving at port this fat is sold to the soap
! makers, and the price fetched largely in
creases the "doctor's" pay. A good deal
of the meat has made several voyages
around the Horn or Cape Of Good Hope,
and when the cask is opened smells
frightfutly, and is really unfit for human
food. When cooked the meat for each
! watch is placed in a wooden receptacle,
called ;:kid," and taken into the fore
! castle. The peas are made into soup, the
| flour is made into duff" 1t is mixed
with water and boiled in a comical-shaped
bag in salt water. This makes the out
side of the duff taste salty. On being
taken into the forecastle, one man cuts
the duff into as many pieces as there are
men in the watch, some pieces larger than
others.
Another one then turns his back, and
as the carver holds up piece on his jack
knife and says: sWho's this whack for?"
desienates the man who takes the piece.
Sugar is eaten with the duff, or moasses
when served out extra, as is often done.
The pea soup is often made thick by
pouring little vinegar in and eaten that
way, and some old salts stir spoonful
of sugar in the soup, making queer
mess. On Christmas day, and, maybe,
the shippers birthday, rlisins are boiled
in with the flour, and then "plum duff"
is served. Whenever pig is killed on
board ship the afterguards get chops and
sausages, and Jack gets sea pie, and it
makes his mouth water to think of it,
for it is tasty dish, and, like angel
visits, few and far between. This is how
it is cooked: The ''doctor" places a
LAYER of bones on the bottom of his
largest copper kettle. On this he places
q LAYER of pork, cut in chunks and sea-
soned; on this goes layer of pastry,
then another layer of pork, and so on,